Investor Beat -- More Financial Earnings

In a broad trend across several major financial institutions, a number of the big banks reported fixed income falling, which put downward pressure on net income as a whole. Goldman Sachswas no different; despite beating on earnings expectations, net income fell 10%.

On Thursday's Investor Beat, host Alison Southwick and Motley Fool analyst Matt Koppenheffer discuss several of the big banks' earnings, and how Morgan Stanley managed to buck the fixed-income trend.

Then, shares of IBMfell today, after the company announced its first-quarter earnings after market close yesterday. Revenue fell, yet again, for Big Blue, as it has every quarter for the past eight consecutive quarters. Matt talks about how this is a business in flux, as it continues to become a services and consulting business. However, it isn't there yet. He points to how long this transition may take, and where the transitional growing pains may be along the way.

Also, shares of MoneyGram and Western Unionfell today after Wal-Mart announced that it would be getting into the business of money transfers, and significantly undercutting the competition on price. For comparison, Wal-Mart will charge $9.50 for a $900 transfer, while the competitors charge nearly eight times that amount, according to the Wall Street Journal. Matt takes a look at the money transfer business, and just how big of a blow to the competition this move by Wal-Mart really is.

And finally, Matt discusses why Citigroup is a stock on his radar today. After having its capital plan rejected by the Fed due to unsatisfactory risk management during the Fed's annual banking stress tests, the market turned on Citigroup, and the stock saw a sell-off. Matt, however, sees a lot more to the story than just a simple rejection, and tells investors why this Citigroup stock sale could represent a great time to buy.

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Alison Southwick has no position in any stocks mentioned. Matt Koppenheffer owns shares of Amazon.com, Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, and Wal-Mart Stores. The Motley Fool recommends Amazon.com, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, and Western Union. The Motley Fool owns shares of Amazon.com, Bank of America, Citigroup, International Business Machines, and JPMorgan Chase. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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